The Rhetorical Perspective of Discursive and Non-discursive Contents of Selected British Election Songs

Abstract

The rhetorical perspective of discursive and non-discursive contents of songs and music have confirmed
that there are congruity or incongruity between discursive linguistic symbols (lyrics) and non-discursive
aesthetic symbols (music). The data used for the present research were selected from the popular songs
that were used in the British general elections for the twenty-first century from 2001 to 2019. The main aim
of the current study is to examine music as a rhetorical device based on Sellnow and Sellnow's (2001)
theory "'Illusion of Life' rhetorical perspective" to achieve the rhetorical analysis of the songs selected for
the British election. The researcher's analysis of the music-lyrics interaction is in-depth as the one Sellnow
and Sellnow (2001) offer. It is the first research that contains an analysis is conducted by using all
components of this theory. This research finds that the congruity aspect is more successful than incongruity
especially with the upbeat optimistic songs with intensity patterns which are more successful in conveying
the political messages and finds out that persuasion can be achieved not by traditional means of rhetoric,
i.e. verbal or written communication but by non-discursive means, that is music.